11th Sep - 13th Sep 2026
Our Autumn Steam Gala will take place between Friday the 11th and Sunday the 13th of September and it is an event which always proves to be popular with enthusiasts and families alike. Our Steam Galas are the best way to see and travel behind our home fleet of steam locomotives which will be working alongside visiting A1 Class Locomotive 60163 "Tornado"!
Tornado was built in 2008 and has since become a household name having featured on the big and small screens such as on the BBC TV series "Top Gear" and even in the children's film "Paddington 2". The locomotive also completed test runs up to 100mph overnight, proving that steam locomotives still have what it takes to haul heavy trains at high speeds.
New for the Autumn Steam Gala - Full Line Brake Van Rides!
Travel aboard our freight train inside of our brake vans as the train travels from Swanage all the way to the River Frome and back again to Swanage, something which has never been done before at our railway. This means you can enjoy the sight and smells of our locomotive tackling our gradients as they travel along the line, an experience like no other! This service is currently planned to run at intervals throughout the day, including an early morning service before other passenger trains are running!
You can expect to see and enjoy all of the typical sights from our previous events, such as a busy event timetable which features services from Swanage all the way to the River Frome on our "extension" towards Worgret Junction, on site catering as well as facilities on our trains to keep you fed and watered, as well as trade stands at Swanage Station.
Confirmed Trade Stands
Beloved Author Christopher Awdry will be at Harmans Cross Station along with "Full-Steam-Ahead" who will be there for a special launch event of the much anticipated George & Wilbert Awdry’s wonderful collaboration of ‘The Canadian Wonderland Tour 1980’. Pop along to see them between 10:30 and 14:30 on Saturday 12th to say hi and grab a copy two days before the general release!
Our friends from Model Railway Solutions will be at Swanage Station on Saturday and Sunday of the event and their trade stand will be stocked full of new and second hand models to take home with you. The team at MRS are also experts at building model railway baseboards, so why not have a chat with them during your visit to the railway?
Locomotive Lineup
Swanage Railway
Station House<br />
Railway Station Approach<br />
Swanage<br />
Dorset<br />
BH19 1HB